Cathy Townsend (born June 8, 1937) was a Canadian ten-pin bowler. Townsend became one of the first Canadian women to win gold at the World Bowling American Zone Championships in 1974. The following year, she was the first woman of Canada to win the

QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup The QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, previously known as the International Masters and AMF Bowling World Cup, is an annual Ten-pin bowling championship sponsored by QubicaAMF Worldwide, and the largest in bowling in terms of number of participating n ...

. Townsend was inducted into the

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

in 1977 and the Canadian Tenpin Federation Hall of Fame in 1994.

Early life and education

On June 8, 1937, Townsend was born in

Campbellton, New Brunswick Campbellton is a city in Restigouche County, New Brunswick, Canada. Situated on the south bank of the Restigouche River opposite Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec, Campbellton was officially incorporated in 1889 and achieved city status in 1958. For ...

. She began her bowling career in 1963.

Career

In 1967, Townsend participated in the

WTBA World Tenpin Bowling Championships The World Tenpin Bowling Championships is a global event that invites all countries that are members of International Bowling Federation to participate. Event details and history The first World Championships was in 1954, held in Helsinki where ...

but did not win a medal. From 1969 to 1971, she had won silver at the

Tournament of the Americas The FIBA AmeriCup (previously known as the FIBA Americas Championship) is the Americas Basketball Championship that takes place every four years between national teams of the Western Hemisphere continents. Since FIBA organised the entire We ...

. In 1974, Townsend also won gold in the doubles event at the

Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs International Bowling Federation (IBF), known as the Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ) from 1952 to April 2014) and as World Bowling (WB) from April 2014 to November 2020, is the world governing body of nine-pin and ten-pin bowling ...

American Zone Championships alongside

Joanne Walker Keefe Joanne may refer to: Music * ''Joanne'' (album), 2016 album by Lady Gaga ** "Joanne" (Lady Gaga song), a 2016 song from the album ''Joanne'' * "Joanne" (Michael Nesmith song), a 1970 song from the album ''Magnetic South'' * "Joanne", a song by C ...

. She became one of the first Canadian women to receive a gold medal in this championship. At the same competition, Townsend won silver in the four-woman and bronze in the five-woman events. The following year, Townsend participated in the 1975 World Tenpin Bowling Championships and became the first woman of Canada to win the

. After the World Cup, Townsend withdrew from the competition due to an arm injury. She returned to bowling in the summer of 1976. After returning to bowling, she won gold at the 1976 Tournament of the Americas in the all-events and mixed four competitions. In 1981, Townsend won bronze in the five-woman event at the Pan American Bowling Confederation Championships. Outside of bowling, Townsend was a stenographer.

Awards and honors

Townsend was inducted into the

in 1977 and the Canadian Tenpin Federation Hall of Fame in 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Cathy 1937 births Living people Canadian ten-pin bowling players People from Campbellton, New Brunswick Sportspeople from New Brunswick